Saturday, August 25, 2012

How it all came about....

I know I'm always interested in how people got their start to writing, so I thought I would share my story. It all came about on a day that I was having a pity party for myself in December of '08. I was being pulled in what seemed a thousand different directions because of the holidays and my childrens' birthdays (the majority of which insanely fall in December). Plus, a family reunion and other responsibilites were playing heavily on me. So I cancelled a meeting I was in charge of and said, "I'm taking the afternoon for myself." (I won't deny we all need to do that, now and then.)

I had the idea for my story bumping around in my head for about fifteen years before I typed out my first sentence. And that afternoon a whole page emerged from my fingertips. (Keep in mind that I would have never considered myself a writer. English was the one class that made my knees knock together in fear, so to actually start writing something was a bit of a stunner for me.) I then put the story away until my children went back to school in January.

In January, I wrote during my childrens' quiet times, and after about two weeks, I broke down and told my husband what I was doing. He read what I had, and then he sweetly gave me nights to write, as well. He was completely amazing in his support (and still is) by putting the children to bed, doing the dishes, etc.

I wrote whenever I could for five months and finished my story at the end of May '09. I thought it was perfect and I was ready to publish it, then and there. Then I checked out the book Publishing for Dummies from the library and it said, "Congratulations, you've written a manuscript...now rewrite it." I clearly remember throwing the book across the bed thinking they were crazy. But here I am, three years later, and my manuscript has been rewritten, revised, and tweaked so much, I can't imagine having published it any sooner than I am now. I am truly pleased with where it's at today and anticipate the moment when I can share it with all of you.

3 comments:

Great that you shared this with us. Yes, annoying as it is, writing is re-writing, and can be very painful minus the red wine and/or caffeine and biscuits. Amazing that you have such a supportive family - you must have chosen well. Looking forward to learning more about your book!Cx

Thanks for the visit!

About Me

I have been happily married to my husband for fifteen years. We met at Brigham Young University on a blind date, and, at first, I was sure he wasn't for me, but now I cannot imagine my life without him. My life is busy, but I try to keep it as simple as possible, focusing on what matters most to me---home and family. I love to read, cook, spend time with my family, and now I can add writing to that list---it is my creative outlet; we all need one.